Report: Death Sentences Plunge to Historic Lows

Report: Death Sentences Plunge to Historic Lows

The Death Penalty Information Center reported that 78 people were sentenced to death in 2011, down from nearly 30 percent in 2010 and 65 percent since 2000. They say the decline could be because of “growing discomfort” among Americans to high-profile cases like Troy Davis’s execution.

Published December 15, 2011

The number of death sentences and executions in the U.S. is at an historic low, an anti-capital punishment group said in its annual report Thursday.

The drop represents the first time since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 that the country has executed less than 100 death sentences in a year. It is also a 75 percent decline since 1996, when there were 315 death sentences.

The center credits the fall to a variety of factors including, “growing discomfort” among Americans sparked by high-profile cases such as Troy Davis, whose guilt was in question for many.

"I think [the Troy Davis case] shook the confidence that some people had about the death penalty, that it really does risk innocent lives — even though many are guilty. There's still the danger, and so juries are returning less death sentences, prosecutors are seeking it less," Richard Dieter, director of the information center, told MSNBC.

Only 13 states carried out executions in 2011, 74 percent of which were in the South. Texas led the country with 13 executions, but that number represents a 46 percent decrease from 2009.

The report was based on statistics and trends in capital punishment over 2011, as well as research material dating back to 1976.

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(Photo: Associated PressAP)

Written by Danielle Wright

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